Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Morning Converstations

As I walk by the maid she is wiping down the bookshelves and my husbands books, many of which are over 50 years old with what appears to be a wet cloth.

"Are you using water to clean the books and the bookshelves?"

"No Madame, just a damp cloth."

"And what made the cloth damp?"

"Water Madame."

Pregnant pause. Waiting for the lightbulb to go on. Still no light bulb. Big sigh on my part.

"Please only use a dry cloth or the duster to clean the bookshelves. The water will damage the books and the wood."

With a perplexed look "Yes Madame."

Any bets on how long before I catch her cleaning the books with a wet cloth again?

8 comments:

Z. Marie said...

Oh, it'll be less than a week. Maybe even tomorrow.

Shannon said...

I'm sure you are right. SIGH!

Doug Ferguson said...

You mean she stopped when you said what you said? Usually "Yes Madame" is followed by the same behavior as before.

Shannon said...

I stood there and watched, so yes she did switch to a dry cloth but I don't hold out much hope for next time.

Short 'n' Feisty said...

As an FSO hopeful, I aspire to have these problems one day. Until then, I'll keep letting my books gather dust because I am too lazy to do it myself.

David said...

I am a betting man but only make bets on a sure thing… this would be a bet I am sure to lose, so I am not going to take you up on the offer. But I will give you the reward for me losing any way… smile

Anonymous said...

All the African maids I have ever known cleaned wood with water. ANd I know of no one successful in changing their minds! Good luck! (I just went with it, but I never had an over-zealous duster either)

Shannon said...

Planet Nomad - I could probably deal with the wood thing, although I'm not too hot on paying furniture damages to the gov't when we leave because of her cleaning methods, it was the books I objected to the most. My husbands old books, not my trashy paperback romances. He rarely reads, but he likes old things, especially books, so when the mood to read does strike him it is almost an old (as in really old) book he turns to. The oldest book on that shelf was an 1898 edition of poetry entitled Maurine. The 1948 two volume edition of the Jungle Book he gave me when we were dating is on that shelf too. She was wiping all the books with the same wet cloth. Books and water just don't mix.